Lateral motion truck

ABSTRACT

A railway vehicle including at least one wheelset connected to a vehicle body by way of a lateral suspension arranged to allow said wheelset and its supporting structure to yaw relative to said body, the suspension including a pair of parallel load bearing arms extending longitudinally of the vehicle pivotally connected at one end to the wheelset supporting structure and at the other end to the ends of a transverse member secured to said vehicle body so as to be free to yaw relative thereto, the said arms together with the wheelset and the transverse member forming in plan view a variable parallelogram linkage permitting lateral and yawing movement of the wheelset and its supporting structure relative to the vehicle body.

United States Patent Newman et a1.

[54] LATERAL MOTION TRUCK [72] Inventors: Michael Newman; David Boocock,

both of Derby, NW. 1, England [73] Assignee: British Railways Board,

London, England [22] Filed: Oct. 5, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 77,832

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 13,1969 Great Britain ..50261/69 [52] US. Cl. ..105/171, 105/4 R, 105/4 A, 105/165, 105/167, 105/174, 105/176 [51] Int. Cl ..B6lf 3/12, B6lf 5/38, B61f 13/00 [58] Field of Search ..105/3, 4 R, 4 A, 167,168, 105/171, 174,176

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,022,054 4/1912 Warner ..105/176 1,954,705 4/1934 Kruckenberg et al...105/ 174X 2,115,095 4/1938 Bugatti ..105/4 R 2,030,010 2/1936 Liechty ..105/174 X Aug. 29, 1972 Primary Examiner-Arthur L. La Point Assistant Examiner-l-loward Beltran Attorney-Sommers & Young [5 7 ABSTRACT A railway vehicle including at least one wheelset connected to a vehicle body by way of a lateral suspension arranged to allow said wheelset and its supporting structure to yaw relative to said body, the suspension including a pair of parallel load bearing arms extending longitudinally of the vehicle pivotally connected at one end to the wheelset supporting structure and at the other end to the ends of a transverse member secured to said vehicle body so as to be free to yaw relative thereto, the said arms together with the wheelset and the transverse member forming in plan view a variable parallelogram linkage permitting lateral and yawing movement of the wheelset and its supporting structure relative to the vehicle body.

19 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PKTE'NTED AUG 29 I972 sum 1 or 3 MIC HAL NEWMAN DAVID BOOCMK P'A'TENTEFD M1829 m2 SHEET 3 BF 3 MICHAEL NEWMAN DAVID BoococK LATERAL MOTION TRUCK The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to railway vehicles. More particularly it relates to a railway vehicle which is provided with an improved lateral and yaw suspension connected between the vehicle body and the wheelsets.

The present invention is not only applicable to conventional railway vehicles in which the lateral and yaw suspension is incorporated into the connections between the wheelsets and the vehicle bodies but is also applicable to a railway vehicle in which a rigid steering beam extends across the connection between the adjacent ends of two adjacent vehicle bodies. In this case the lateral and yaw suspension is connected between the steering beam and each wheelset.

According to the present invention there is provided a railway vehicle including at least one wheelset connected to a vehicle body by way of a lateral suspension arranged to allow said wheelset and it supporting structure to yaw relative to said body, the suspension including a pair of parallel load bearing arms extending longitudinally of the vehicle from one side of the wheelset pivotally connected at one end to said wheelset supporting structure and at the other end to the ends of a transverse member secured to said vehicle body so as to be free to yaw relative thereto, the said arms together with the wheelset and the transverse member forming in plan view a variable parallelogram linkage permitting lateral and yawing movement of the wheelset and its supporting structure relative to the vehicle body, means being provided to restrain said lateral yawing movement.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a railway vehicle incorporating a lateral and yaw suspension between its wheelset and its body. period.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle suspension shown in FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 2 in which the vehicle wheelset is displaced laterally and yawed relative to the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a railway vehicle in which adjacent bodies of the vehicle are interconnected by a steering beam and in which lateral and yaw suspensions together with a vertical suspension are applied between a pair of wheelsets and the steering beam.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the railway vehicle shown in FIG. 4

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI VI of FIG. 4

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII VII of FIG. 4.

In FIG. 1 a wheelset 10 is mounted in a supporting frame 1 l by means of axle boxes 12. Some form of primary suspension, illustrated diagrammatically as 12 is incorporated between the axle boxes 12 and the frame 11. A pair of arms 13 are connected at one end, by

cal movements are possible and thus the weight of the vehicle body 18 is effectively transmitted partially through the arms 13 to the wheelset 10 as will be described below. The joints 15 are such as to allow the arms 13 to swing horizontally relative to the beam 16. The joints 15 must also accommodate vertical movements of the arms 13 relative to the beam in the case where some form of vertical suspension is incorporated, as will be described later. The beam 16 is pivoted at its center point by a vertical pivot joint 17 to the vehicle body 18.

Vertical swing links 19 are connected at their upper and lower ends respectively by joints 20 to an upwards extension of the frame 1 l and to a bracket 21 depending from the vehicle body. These joints 20 are such as to allow movement of the links 19 both transversely of the vehicle, in lateral movements of the suspension, and longitudinally in yawing movements.

To control any yawing movements of the wheelset 10 relative to the vehicle, a pair of series connected dampers 22 and springs 23 are connected between the ends of the transverse beam 16 and the vehicle body 18. Alternative arrangements for controlling this yawing movement are springs without dampers, a friction pad or friction slider, a combined spring and friction slider or a spring combined with a release mechanism which releases at a preset maximum force.

The weight of the vehicle body 18 is transmitted to the wheelset l0 partially through the swing links 19 and partially through the swing arms 13 which are thus load bearing.

In FIG. 3, the wheelset 10 is shown displaced laterally from the center line of the vehicle body and also yawed relative thereto. Such a situation occurs when the vehicle is negotiating a curve in the track. It can be seen that the arms 13 acts as a parallel linkage to maintain the wheelset axle parallel to the beam 16. Thus any yawing motion of the wheelset 10 relative to the vehicle, such as occurs when the vehicle is negotiating a curve when the wheelset aligns itself so that it lies redially to the curve, is transmitted to the beam 16. Controlling the yawing motion of the beam 16 thus controls the wheelset 10.

Suitable vertical springing (not shown) is incorporated between the connection of the links 19 to the body 18 and/or between the wheelset 10 and the frame 11. If vertical springing is incorporated in the connec tion between the links 19, and the body 18, then, as described, the joints 15 between the arms 13 and the beam 16 must be such as to allow vertical movement of the arms 13.

Torsion springs may be incorporated in the joints 14 between the arms 13 and the frame 11, or in the joints 15 between the arms 13 and the transverse beam 16. The purpose of these springs is to trim the lateral force and yaw couple distributions through the suspension, so that greater reluctance to contact between wheel flange and rail is obtained on curved track.

As described so far, the beam 16 and the links 19 are both connected, by pivot 17 and joints 20 respectively, directly to the underframe of the vehicle body. If however the vehicle is of the type in which adjacent bodies of the vehicle are interconnected by a rigid steering beam, such as is described in our co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 129,899, filed Mar. 31, 1971, which is a continuation-in-part of our US. Ser. No. 849,322, filed Aug. 12,1969 now abandoned, then the beam 16 is pivotally connected to this steering beam and not directly to the vehicle body.

Such an arrangement is shown in FIGS. 4 to 7.

A rigid longitudinal steering beam 24 interconnects two adjacent bodies 18 of the railway vehicle, the vehicle bodies being connected to the beam by universal joints 25 and interconnected at their adjacent ends by a joint 26. A pair of the transverse beams 16 are pivotally mounted at their centers to the steering beam 24 at each end thereof. A pair of load bearing swing arms 13 are pivotally mounted to the ends of each of the beams 16 and connect to the axle frame 11 of each of the wheelsets 10. A pair of combined dampers and springs 22/23 are connected between the beams 16 and the beam 24 as shown in FIG. 5.

An intermediate frame 27 is arranged between the two axle frames 11 and is supported on the axle frames 11, being connected thereto at each end by a pair of vertical links 28 provided with a ball joint 29 at each end and a transverse tie rod 30 or some other device which restrains lateral movement but allows relative longitudinal and yawing movements and which is connected between the frame I 1 and a longitudinal extension 31 of the frame 27. Ball joints 32 are provided at each end of the tie rod 30. Other forms of vertical support which do not restrict relative horizontal movement between the frame 27 and the frames 1 1 can be used.

A secondary frame 33 is suspended from the side members of intermediate frame 27 by way of transverse swing links 34 or other lateral suspension which allow only transverse relative movement between the secondary frame 33 and the intermediate frame 27. These swing links together with the parallel arms 13 constitute the lateral suspension. A vertical spring 35 is arranged between the secondary frame 33 and the steering beam 24. This spring 35 provides the main vertical springing for the vehicle.

The secondary frame 33 is restrained relative to the steering beam 24 for example by means of tie rods or guides (not shown) to allow only vertical and yawing motions of the secondary frame, and hence the intermediate frame 27, relative to the steering beam 24. Longitudinal and transverse movements of the secondary frame 33 relative to the steering beam 24 are prevented by these tie rods. Similarly since the swing links 34 only allow relative transverse movement between the secondary frame 33 and the intermediate frame 27, the latter is also prevented by the tie rods connected between the secondary frame and the steering beam, from moving longitudinally relative to the steering beam 24.

When the vehicle bodies 18 move sideways relative to the wheelsets in a pure lateral motion when the vehicle is travelling on a straight section of track, the steering beam 24 also moves laterally and carries the secondary frame 33 with it by way of the tie rods. THe intermediate frame 27 is tied to the two axle frames 11 by the lateral tie rods 30 and is thus prevented from following this lateral movement of the secondary frame 33 which thus moves laterally relative to the intermediate frame 27 on its swing links 34. As the beam 24 moves laterally, the two transverse beams 16 are carried with it and the two pairs of swing arms 13 swing sideways to a position at an angle to the direction of travel of the vehicle. This sideways movement of the swing arms 13 causes each of the axle frames 11 move to a short distance longitudinally towards the beams 16, away from the intermediate frame 27, causing the vertical links 28 to pivot longitudinally of the track, outwardly from the frame 27. The lateral tie rod 30 also pivots relative to the arm 31 on it joints 32.

One or more dampers (not shown) are connected for example between the steering beam 24 and the intermediate frame 22 to damp out these lateral movements of the vehicle relative to the wheelsets 10.

When the railway vehicle goes round a curve in the track, the vehicle bodies 18 and the steering beam 24 move laterally relative to the wheelsets 10 under the action of centrifugal force. THe wheelsets l0 yaw relative to the steering beam 24 and take up a position relative to the transverse beams 16, similar to that shown in FIG. 3, to bring the wheelset axles to an approximately radial position with respect to the curve.

If we assume that the vehicle as shown in plan in FIG. 5 is rounding a curve whose center of curvature is towards the bottom of the sheet, the vehicle bodies 18 and the steering beam 24 will move, relative to the wheelsets 10, towards the top of the sheet. The left hand wheelset 10 will yaw anti-clockwise and the right hand wheelset clockwise. If the curve is of constant radius both wheelsets 11) will yaw, relative to the steering beam 24 by approximately equal amounts and the intermediate frame 27 will remain substantially unyawed with respect to the beam 24. The ball joints 29 at the ends of the vertical links 28 allow the links 28 to move longitudingly so allowing the axles frames 11 to yaw relative to the intermediate frame 27. Each of the axle frames 11 is provided with projecting arms 36 on either side of the arm 31 on the intermediate frame 27. Resilient members 37 may be positioned between these arms 36 and each of the arms 31 to control the yawing movements of the frames 11 relative to the intermediate frame 27. For yawing movements greater than a predetermined maximum, one of these resilient members 37 will become fully compressed and further yawing movement of the wheelset relative to the intermediate frame 27 will be prevented. In this way excessive yawing motions of the wheelsets 10 are prevented.

If the radius of the curve is non-uniform, in particular if the curve is a reverse curve (S-curve), gross yaw misalignments must be allowed between a longitudinal line joining the wheelset centers and the steering beam 24. Relative to the beam 24, one wheelset and its frame 11 are displaced laterally in one direction and the other wheelset and its frame are displaced in the opposite direction. As a result the intermediate frame 27 and the secondary frame 33 rotate in yaw substantially about the central point of the beam 24. These motions are also accompanied by yawing of the two wheelsets 10 and their frames 11, so that the two transverse beams 16 are activated by the swing arms 13 to yaw together in the same sense.

Since yaw movements of these beams 16 may be rapid and lead to substantial angular displacements of the beams, a device is incorporated into the yaw suspension to ensure that excessive forces are not generated which could result in derailment. The yaw suspension comprising springs 23 and dampers 22 is fitted with blow-off valves in the dampers so that pressures are limited to a pre-deterrnined maximum. Similarly, if a spring and friction slide arrangement is used, the break-out friction force is set to an acceptable level.

Vertical movements of the vehicle bodies 18 relative to the wheelsets are controlled by the spring 35 which acts in conjunction with vertical dampers (not shown). Looking at FIG. 4, when the vehicle bodies 18 move upwardly with respect to wheelsets 10, the steering beam 24 moves with them together with the transverse beams 16. This causes the swing arms 13 to pivot about their joints is such that the left hand axle frame 11 is tilted clockwise and the right hand wheelset 11 anti-clockwise. The links with their ball joints on the ends of the vertical links 28 and the lateral tie rods 30 allow this tilting longitudinal motion of the frames 11. The upwards movement of the beam 24 causes the vertical spring 35 to stretch. Similarly downwards movement of the vehicle bodies 18 and steering beam 24 towards the wheelsets causes the spring 35 to be compressed.

Roll motions of the vehicle bodies 18 relative to the wheelsets 10 are controlled by springs 38 (FIG. 7) and dampers (not shown) mounted between the transverse beams 16 and the bodies. Each beam 16 acts as an antiroll platform, being restrained by arms 13 in conjunction with the section of frame 11 between the arms, which acts as an anti-roll bar.

When going round a curve at high speed it is advantageous to the wheelsets, to be able to tilt the vehicle bodies relative to the wheel self so as to offset the effect of centrifugal forces on passengers travelling in the vehicle. Tilting may be accomplished by replacing springs 38 by hydraulic, pneumatic, or mechanical jacks and extending one jack and shrinking the other to tilt the body 18 by an amount which is determined by an external control circuit which controls the operation of the jacks. The jacks are provided with resilient mounting at their connection to either the vehicle body 18 or the beam 16 which act as passive roll springs to rolling motions of the vehicle bodies in both the tilted and non-tilted positions In the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, a pair of vehicle bodies are connected to the wheelsets through the beam 24. It is however possible to omit this beam 24 and to connect a single body 28 to the pair of wheelsets, the two transverse beams 16 being connected to the underframe of the body at one end thereof and the vertical spring member 35 being connected between the secondary frame 33 and the underside of the body 18.

We claim:

1. A railway vehicle including, at least one wheelset, suspension means connecting said wheelset to a body portion of the vehicle by way of a lateral suspension arranged in a manner to allow said wheelset and its supporting structure to yaw relative to said body, the suspension including a pair of parallel vertical load bearing arms extending longitudinally of the vehicle from one side of the wheelset, each said arm being pivotally connected at one end to said wheelset supporting structure and at the other end to the respective end of a transverse member secured to said vehicle body so as to be free to yaw relative thereto, the said arms together with the wheelset and the transverse member forming in plan view a variable parallelogram linkage permitting lateral and yawing movement of the wheelset and its supporting structure relative to the vehicle body, and means to restrain said lateral yawing movement.

2. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the connection between each of said load bearing arms and the wheelset supporting structure is such as to allow only relative horizontal movements therebetween.

3. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wheelset supporting structure includes a frame member extending transversely across the ends of the wheelset.

4. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lateral suspension also includes vertically extending swing links.

5. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the vehicle body is supported at one end on a pair of wheelsets, and the transverse members associated therewith are pivotally mounted on the body, each pair of load bearing arms extending longitudinally from each transverse member to its associated wheelset.

6. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 5 wherein the suspension means connects the wheelset to two adjacent vehicle bodies and wherein a rigid beam extends across the connection between the two adjacent bodies and is connected at its ends to the vehicle bodies at a distance longitudinally of the vehicle bodies from their interconnection with each other, wherein all the connections between said wheelset supporting structures and their associated lateral and yaw suspension, and the body being made through said beam.

7. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 6 wherein a yaw restraint is connected between each transverse member and the beam or so as to control the yawing motions of said transverse members relative to said beam.

8. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 7 wherein said yaw restraint comprises a damper and a spring connected in series.

9. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 8 wherein said intermediate frame is connected to said wheelset supporting structures at each end thereof by connecting means which prevent relative lateral movement therebetween.

10. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 9 wherein said intermediate frame is connected to each of said wheelset supporting structures by a laterally extending tie rod.

11. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 10 wherein each of said tie rods is arranged in the vertical plane extending through the axis of the wheel axle of the respective wheelset.

12. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 6 wherein an intermediate frame is provided interconnecting said two wheelset supporting structures and supported thereon in a manner which permits movement of the wheelsets in yaw longitudinally of the vehicle relative to the intermediate frame, and a secondary frame mounted on said intermediate frame through a lateral suspension and wherein vertical load bearing means are connected between said secondary frame and said body.

13. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein said intermediate frame is supported on said wheelset supporting structures by vertical pivoted links.

14. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein said lateral suspension between said intermediate and secondary frames comprise vertical swing links.

15. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein said vertical load bearing means includes a vertically acting resilient member.

16. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein said secondary frame is tied to said vehicle body so as to be movable vertically and in a yawing motion relative thereto, movements longitudinally and laterally relative thereto being prevented.

19. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein stop means are provided to limit the angle of yaw of the wheelset supporting structures relative to the intermediate frame. 

1. A railway vehicle including, at least one wheelset, suspension means connecting said wheelset to a body portion of the vehicle by way of a lateral suspension arranged in a manner to allow said wheelset and its supporting structure to yaw relative to said body, the suspension including a pair of parallel vertical load bearing arms extending longitudinally of the vehicle from one side of the wheelset, each said arm being pivotally connected at one end to said wheelset supporting structure and at the other end to the respective end of a transverse member secured to said vehicle body so as to be free to yaw relative thereto, the said arms together with the wheelset and the transverse member forming in plan view a variable parallelogram linkage permitting lateral and yawing movement of the wheelset and its supporting structure relative to the vehicle body, and means to restrain said lateral yawing movement.
 2. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the connection between each of said load bearing arms and the wheelset supporting structure is such as to allow only relative horizontal movements therebetween.
 3. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wheelset supporting structure includes a frame member extending transversely across the ends of the wheelset.
 4. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lateral suspension also includes vertically extending swing links.
 5. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the vehicle body is supported at one end on a pair of wheelsets, and the transverse members associated therewith are pivotally mounted on the body, each pair of load bearing arms extending longitudinally from each transverse member to its associated wheelset.
 6. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 5 wherein the suspension means connects the wheelset to two adjacent vehicle bodies and wherein a rigid beam extends across the connection between the two adjacent bodies and is connected at its ends to the vehicle bodies at a distance longitudinally of the vehicle bodies from their interconnection with each other, wherein all the connections between said wheelset supporting structures and their associated lateral and yaw suspension, and the body being made through said beam.
 7. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 6 wherein a yaw restraint is connected between each transverse member and the beam or so as to control the yawing motions of said transverse members relative to Said beam.
 8. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 7 wherein said yaw restraint comprises a damper and a spring connected in series.
 9. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 8 wherein said intermediate frame is connected to said wheelset supporting structures at each end thereof by connecting means which prevent relative lateral movement therebetween.
 10. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 9 wherein said intermediate frame is connected to each of said wheelset supporting structures by a laterally extending tie rod.
 11. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 10 wherein each of said tie rods is arranged in the vertical plane extending through the axis of the wheel axle of the respective wheelset.
 12. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 6 wherein an intermediate frame is provided interconnecting said two wheelset supporting structures and supported thereon in a manner which permits movement of the wheelsets in yaw longitudinally of the vehicle relative to the intermediate frame, and a secondary frame mounted on said intermediate frame through a lateral suspension and wherein vertical load bearing means are connected between said secondary frame and said body.
 13. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein said intermediate frame is supported on said wheelset supporting structures by vertical pivoted links.
 14. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein said lateral suspension between said intermediate and secondary frames comprise vertical swing links.
 15. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein said vertical load bearing means includes a vertically acting resilient member.
 16. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein said secondary frame is tied to said vehicle body so as to be movable vertically and in a yawing motion relative thereto, movements longitudinally and laterally relative thereto being prevented.
 17. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein a damper is arranged to damp out any relative lateral movements between the intermediate frame and the body.
 18. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein yaw restraining springs are arranged between each of said wheelset supporting structures and the intermediate frame.
 19. A railway vehicle as claimed in claim 12 wherein stop means are provided to limit the angle of yaw of the wheelset supporting structures relative to the intermediate frame. 